


The Trouble With Toasters

by justbygrace



Series: Pete's World [9]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 05:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2639993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reposting this because I'm totally adding to it because I am super unoriginal and can't come up with new ideas. Whoops.<br/>Also both chapters begin with provided prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"What happened to the toaster?" Rose called as she closed the front door behind her. She couldn't yet see the toaster, but the distinct smell of burnt metal and toast crumbs was a frequent smell at their flat.

"Toaster? Why do you think something happened to the toaster? The toaster is just fine. It toasts bread just as well, if not better than it ever did before." There was a clanking of metal and the Doctor's head appeared around the door frame, a swipe of grease across his cheek.

"Your fringe is smoking," she said, dropping her keys in the little dish by the door and toeing off her shoes.

There was a high-pitched shriek - too high for any self-respecting half-Time Lord and she knew he'd deny it if she called him out on it - and the Doctor's face disappeared. Rose could hear the sound of water running and she took her time flipping through the mail before setting it down. Facing the disaster in the kitchen wasn't high on her priority list at the moment.

"Rose." The Doctor's mournful voice sounded from the kitchen. "Rose, I need you."

She couldn't help the warm feeling that filled her as she crossed the living room and entered the kitchen. His ability to admit that he needed her on a regular basis was one of the biggest things that had helped her to accept this half-human, half-Time Lord as her very own Doctor.

The sight that met her eyes on the threshold off the kitchen pulled her up short. The toaster was, in fact, not destroyed. It was, however, moving around the counter on four spindly legs and it almost sounded as if it was greeting her.

"Doctor," she said, carefully skirting around the toaster and towards the Doctor. "Why is the toaster walking and speaking?"

"Oh, it's uh, it's, well, it's sort of sentient now." He avoided her gaze. "But he's pleasant, very helpful about things like directions and how to make a proper pot roast."

"Well that's good, I suppose." She looked back at the toaster. It was crouched on the edge of the counter and it almost appeared to be surveying them.

"Very pleased to have you home, Dame Rose," it squeaked and Rose tried not to flinch.

"Likewise, I'm sure," she replied before returning her gaze to the Doctor. "I thought we talked about this."

"We did! Well, you did. I just listened and anyway, just think of the possibilities Rose! I have an idea for the refrigerator and the stove and the blender and..." He cut off when she gently laid a finger on his lips.

"I love you and I'm very happy you're happy and I'm also happy that the toaster is polite and all, but Doctor, you're not going to make any more of our appliances sentient. I don't fancy them talking to me at two am when I just want a snack." He looked as if he wanted to argue. "However, I have a proposition."

He wiggled an eyebrow - the left one - but didn't try to speak around her hand.

Rose shook her head. "Not like that, though that can be arranged also." He grinned. "Pete has, once again, offered you a spot in the lab. You wouldn't have to be on the payroll and you would report to anyone and you wouldn't even have to wear anything that says Torchwood."

"Ergmuph," he said and she rolled her eyes and removed her hand. "I still don't want to go on missions. Or consult. Or teach. Or go to board meetings. Or shake hands with the President. Or go on company retreats. Or retire with a gold watch when I'm fifty."

"I promise you, Doctor, you don't have to do anything there you don't want to." She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "And did I mention they have an entire storage room of appliances they think may have been tampered with?"

"Do they?" He glanced over her shoulder at where the toaster was now reclining against the butter dish. "I suppose it can't be too bad then. But none of those other things! And I want that in writing."

"You can get it all in writing and plus the dozen more you'll think of before tomorrow morning," Rose told him. "Just please leave the rest of the appliances alone."

"Deal," he agreed. "Now, you said something about the other kind of propositions?"

She laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, pulling back before he had a chance to deepen it. "Just let me change and grab a bit to eat. I'm starved."

"Ooh, do you want some toast? Mr Toasts-A-Lot is really excited about showing off. He can make the perfect toast, just nice and brown without any burnt bits."

Rose shook her head as she headed out of the kitchen. "You named the toaster Mr Toasts-A-Lot?"

"Well, technically he named himself that," he explained. "Oh! Rose! I was really bored earlier, before I remembered about the toaster and anyway, watch out for the toilet!"

"Watch out for the what?" she called back.

"The toilet!"

"The what?"

"The toi...oh, never mind. You'll figure it out." He shook his head and smiled at the toaster. "Now, let's get some toast going."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the part I added, in case you were wondering.

"What are you doing?" While there had been nothing particularly accusing in Rose's tone, the Doctor leapt out of his seat as if he had been stung and hastily hid his hands behind his back.

"Nothing really! And I was most definitely not fixing something I didn't promise never to touch again," he said, shifting his body slightly to the left. "Also you're home early. Really early. It's only a quarter of five. What did you do to get Pete to ease up on you and teach me your ways so that I can also..."

"You don't even have a time you are supposed to show up every day, let alone leave," Rose cut him off. "And also, if what you are most certainly not doing has anything to do with any appliance re-modification, you and I are going to have words. And not the good kind either."

The Doctor let out a heavy sigh. "Before you see this and definitely before you get mad, I didn't set out for this to happen."

"Do you ever?" Rose muttered affectionately, bracing herself for whatever the Doctor had concocted this time. His previous invention still scared the daylights out of her when she forgot that her toaster was now sentient and had some pretty firm opinions on her eating habits and outfit choices (or when she forgot that the toilet seat hated the cold and made shivering noises in the winter).

"Well, this one started because I was sitting on the easy chair and you know that one spring that I always complain about?" He waited for her wary nod before continuing, "I thought I could fix it and so I started tinkering, as I do, and, well, the point is that I _did_ fix it. Although now it also speaks Italian and does a remarkable Leonardo da Vinci impression, I'm telling you, I thought it actually was him for a moment and...anyway, not important right now."

Rose shook her head at him, amusement and irritation fighting for dominance. She'd really thought that having him tinker at Torchwood would cure him of the need to disturb household appliances, though to be fair, the easy chair wasn't actually an appliance and was a technicality he was probably counting on. As she stared at him, a thought occurred to her and she could have kicked herself for how long it had taken her to catch on to what was going on.

Kicking off her shoes and dropping her jacket, Rose crossed to where he was standing, not stopping until she had wrapped her arms around his shoulders and his hands had come up to rest on her hips. 

"Italy, huh? I've never been there. All of time and space, you promised me, and I've never been to Italy," she tutted. "I've heard it's beautiful this time of year, though."

The look of dawning realization spreading across his face was one of the most beautiful things Rose had seen in a long time. With a garbled shriek she knew he'd deny later, he pressed his lips to hers. She smiled into the kiss, life with her half-human Time Lord was a lot of things, but it was never boring.


End file.
